We continued on our way out of town, blasting that song on repeat so
that I could get used to singing it. I guess it was some kind of weird
initiation for them or something. I didn't know how else to explain it.
And they encouraged me to 'let go' every minute. I never really thought
of myself as uptight, but the more I felt that sense of moral
restriction uncoil itself, the more liberated I felt. It was like
untying a knot in your stomach, and breathing freely at last. I loved
it.

The madness continued through the square and further on into another
part of the woods. We had to be at least an hour away from the
campgrounds, and I think that might have been a part of Cyrus' plans for
the day. To completely remove me from everything I knew, everything that
might challenge his complete control over me, and force me to depend on
his teachings to guide me home. Or perhaps....to keep me from ever going
home again.

We traveled down a dusty old dirty road, coming up on a rather secluded
spot of the area. Cyrus turned into the driveway of a nice little two
story house. The building looked unkept and dirty, the grass hadn't been
cut in over a year from the looks of it, and a few of the front windows
had been broken out. The screen door was half hanging on its hinges, and
the swingset in the front yard was rusted and falling apart. Even the
mailbox had been smashed and left in pieces at the front of the
driveway. And yet, the home didn't seem to lose any of that comfortable
'welcome' feel to it. Otherwise, it would have looked haunted
from a distance.

Cyrus screeched to a halt in the front yard, the truck parked halfway up
on the grass, and he turned off the engine. "Home sweet home." He said,
and everybody jumped down from the back of the truck. Sebastian opened
the door, and I watched as his lithe body stretched and twisted in front
of me. His arms raised in the air, high enough to let his shirt raise up
over his belt, and let me see the creamy smooth skin on his tight little
stomach. He caught me looking, and simply smiled at me briefly before
turning to go into the house. I hopped down to, walking with them as
they led me in. Shank And Razor were the first to run up on the porch
and reach the door, but simply stood to the side once they got there. As
if to guard us as we all filed into the old place one by one. I was
going to walk in behind Cyrus, but Scout gave me a nasty elbow to the
side to knock me aside. He gave me an evil scowl, and then took his
place at Cyrus' side. Geez, that kid has some real issues with me. You
would have thought I was trying to take his boyfriend away or
something. Thankfully, John Boy and Kristin were much nicer, and let me
go in ahead of them.

The house wasn't neccessarily 'run down'...but you could tell that it
wasn't the product of an adult's influence. It looked more like a dirty
fraternity house than anything else. I looked over at the couch in the
corner, and saw Kriegar laid out on it, sleeping peacefully with a snore
that could call hogs from miles away. There was a half empty bottle of
whiskey on the table in front of him with the label ripped off, and
beneath him on the floor, was almost a 12 pack's worth of crushed empty
beer cans. "He must have had one hell of a party by himself last night."
I said.

"Last night?" Shank asked.

And Razor contnued with, "That's just from this morning."

Everyone split up, going to different corners of the room. I had to ask,
"So....who lives here?"

"WE live here." Scout said with a growl. Talking down to me like I was
stupid.

"Well, who OWNS it, then?"

Without a second thought, all of them at once said, "Cyrus...."

I looked around the room for a moment. The curtains were torn, the rug
was stained, the paint was peeling. The furniture looked worn out and
broken. The steps leading to the second floor looked as if they were
ready to collapse any minute, and the railing was broken in many
different places. "It's not much, but it's home." Cyrus said as he
walked past me. I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye, and saw
Sebastian pulling his shirt up over his head. My breath caught in my
throat as his smooth hairless chest glided into view. It was lightly
tanned, just like the rest of him, and just as gorgeous as I expected it
to be. If not moreso. I thought he might be changing into something
else, but he just sat down....topless, his thin arms and well defined
chest sitting bare for all to see. My eyes locked onto him, and I could
feel my pulse racing again. He literally made my mouth water, and
I didn't even know if I LIKED him all that much! All I knew is...I'd
suck the SKIN off of whatever he had between his legs, and never ask for
a single kiss if I thought it'd ruin the moment.

"So you like our little home away from home, Wes?" Kristin asked with a
smile.

"It's...it's nice."

"We think so." But her eyes were diverted downwards as a faint
'thumping' noise came up from under the floorboards. She stomped her
foot hard on the floor and shouted, "Not until Cyrus says you can come
out!" I gave her a strange look, and heard the thumping get worse. She
sighed in aggravation. "Can't you two DO something about him?" She asked
the twins, but they only shrugged their shoulders. "Sebastian?"

Sebastian laid his head back against the wall, his chin length hair
gliding back to further relax him. "Not my call. Besides, Kriegar's the
one watching him today. It's his turn." He said calmly.

Cyrus saw the confusion and growing tension in my eyes, and he walked
over to put a hand on my shoulder with a grin. "Would you like to see
what's in the basement, Wes?"

"Uh....actually..." I was getting ready to say no, but he cut me off.

"Good! Let's go see what's in the basement."

Scout spoke up. "You're gonna let him go?"

"Well we can't keep the poor boy tied up forever now, can we?"
Cyrus answered, and with his hand sliding up to the back of my neck, he
'guided' me into their dirty, unkept, kitchen...and down the steps to
the basement. I could hear the thump, thump, thump, of a chair being
bounced back and forth on the floor. As we crept down the old wooden
steps in a single file line, I could hear a muffled whimpering. A
screaming. I really wanted to turn back. I REALLY didn't wanna know what
was down there.

Then, Cyrus walked forward, and reached for a small chain to turn on the
single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. There, in the center of the
room, was a boy tied to a chair with as much rope as could fit on his
slim body. His light brown eyes were huge, and his hair was neatly
shaved on the sides, with a crop of bright blond curls at the top. A
teen heartthrob type that might have been really cute except for the
fact that he had duct tape wrapped around his mouth about 50 times and
was tied down like some kind of serial killer. He shouted even more as
he saw us enter the room, trying desperately to get his voice to pass
through the tape. "How are we feeling today, Dex?" Cyrus asked.

"Mmph! MMMMPH!!!" He cried out.

"Now, if I cut this tape off of your mouth....are you gonna behave?" The
boy shouted and began kicking and rocking back in the chair violently.
"HEY!" Cyrus yelled, and he calmed down instantly. "I'm not gonna untie
you unless you behave. Understood?" The boy nodded his head, and Cyrus
stepped back while the twins walked over to 'unwrap' him. I didn't know
what to make of ANY of this. I should have high tailed it out of there a
long time ago. But I was stuck. I felt like they would rush me and pin
me to the ground if I tried to make a move now. The whole thing in the
center of town was funny...but THIS??? I wasn't ever sure I knew
what this WAS!

Finally, Razor had gotten to the last bit of tape on his mouth and
ripped it off. The boy shouted. "OWWW!!! Do you guys have ANY idea how
long I've been down here?!?! DO YOU?!?! I'm dirty! I'm STARVING!
I'm....completely SOBER!!! I can't even THINK straight right
now!" I found myself confused again, and began to wonder if this was
some kind of...'game' between them. As soon as Shank untied the
remaining ropes holding him down, he SPRUNG out of the chair, ran passed
me and the others, and charged upstairs!

"What the hell was THAT about?" I asked. But only seconds later, the boy
came running BACK down the stairs with the half empty bottle of whisky
that Kriegar had on the table. The teen took off the cap, threw it over
his shoulder, and turned up the bottle to guzzle down all he could
before nearly gagging n the stuff.

With a huff, he began talking a mile a minute with this nagging gaggle
of words and phrases that were hard to follow at the speed he was going.
"How could you guys leave me down here for this long while you go out
and have fun and go partying and forget about poor old Dex sitting here
in the basement with no alcohol, huh? And today? Today, today,
today...you leave me with Kriegar? Kriegar?!?!
That-that-that...DRUNK! You leave me here with HIM? I could have starved
to death while he was sleeping! I could have fell back and hit my head,
broke an arm, choked on my own tongue! After all I do for you guys, you
leave me here all by myself, you should be ashamed....HEY! This
kid is new! Who are you? My name is Dexter! Hi!" The greeting came so
fast and so 'off topic' that I didn't know he was speaking to me until
he held out his hand for me to shake it.

"Um...hey. I'm Wesley.."

"WESLEY! Good! GREAT! Welcome to the family! I'm Dexter...but you
already know that cause I just TOLD ya a few seconds ago. You'd have to
be a moron for me to have to tell you again. Right? Right! Good,
glad to meet ya." He said, and turned back to the others. "You guys
could LEARN something from this kid. You don't see HIM tying up his
friends and leaving them to rot in a basement. Do ya?" Then he turned to
me and whispered. "Hey...you don't have any friends tied up in a
basement somewhere, do ya?"

"Um...no. Can't say that I do."

"YOU SEE? No tied up friends in the basement! Take notes you guys.
Seriously. You've got problems. Tying me up like that, you should feel
really BAD about yourselves." He took another swig of the liquor. "How
long have I been down here? Two weeks? Three?"

"A day and a half." John Boy answered.

"A day and a half??? Well....a day and a half, three weeks, from
Christmas to Christmas...it's all the same damn thing! Where's
Sebastian, anyway?"

"He's upstairs relaxing." Kristin said.

"Oh well, you can disturb him when he's relaxing, he doesn't like that.
Not at all. He'll get mad. Nice meeting you Wesley, you're a good guy,
really." He took his bottle and stormed up the steps again, mumbling all
the way. "Leave ME down here like a sack of garbage, I'll show you.
Maybe I'll just run away, that's what I'll do. I'll run away. Bunch of
bullies...."

I turned to Cyrus and said, "THAT was...'interesting'."

"Dexter is a little bit 'wound up' right now. But he'll calm down in a
few days. He's been a bit restless lately as you can see." Cyrus
told me.

"Should I even ASK why you guys had him down here tied to a chair
for a day and a half?"

John Boy replied, "Dex can be a bit hyperactive sometimes during this
particular phase of the moon. It keeps that boy is on a constant sugar
rush until i egins to wane again. Not to mention, of course, that he's
already a little bit...um..."

"...Crazy." The twins answered.
"Dexter was on a bit of a punishment for some wild antics in town a few
days ago. Even in chaos there has to be some level of
discipline." Cyrus added. "But I think he's learned his lesson. Besides,
the pack just isn't the same without him."

"So you guys are a 'pack' now, huh?" I grinned.

He didn't answer at first, just smiled warmly and put his hand firmly
back on my shoulder. Then he said, "Aren't we all?" and gave me a
friendly pat. "Come on, let's go back upstairs." And without another
word mentioned, everyone followed. They were still a pretty WEIRD group
of kids, but I think I was beginning to understand them a bit better. I
don't know HOW or WHY...I just was. Maybe I should have MY head examined
too.

We went back upstairs and I saw Dex sitting on top of the television,
with one foot up for some reason. He had knocked the antenna down to the
floor, and was already finishing off the last few gurgles of his
bottle of whiskey. Jesus, that was fast! His stomach must be doing
sommersaults right now. Kriegar was still sound asleep, and
Sebastian was standing in front of the window, looking out into the
yard. His pants were hanging low on him, his boxers a full inch and a
half above the waist. The fine silken hairs on his arms and chest were
almost invisible except for the shine from the morning sunlight. It made
me wonder if I should just give him ONE more chance to be...'mine'.

"There's more liquor in the cabinet, and more beer in the fridge, if you
want some." John Boy took off his sunglasses, and stared at me with
those bright mirrored contacts of his. I swear, those things were
macabre. Staring into them and seeing myself...it gave me the creeps.

"No thanks. I told you...I don't drink."

"It won't last." He giggled, and walked over to the couch without
bumping into a single piece of furniture, or stumbling over a single
step. Most times...I doubt that John Boy is blind at all. Hell, he gets
around this place better than I do.

'It won't last'...I wonder what he meant by that. I thought it an odd
comment, but Cyrus didn't let me concentrate for very long. He plopped
down hard into one of the arm chairs and hit a few buttons on the stereo
system. Again...the volume was up as loud as it could possibly
go, and it startled the HELL out of me when it started blasting a hard
rock version of 'All About The Benjamins' loud enough to shake paintings
off the wall. How I was supposed to TALK to anybody in that room without
shouting at the top of my lungs is a complete mystery to me. No one
seemed to care though. In fact, even though it was barely past eleven in
the morning...it looked like the party was just beginning.

Kriegar hadn't budged an inch, even with the blast of music. But seemed
to get some 'life' back in him when Kristin walked over, sat on his lap,
and opened a cold beer under his nose. "Come on bitch, get up! We got
company!" She yelled. Then handed him the beer. "Enjoy your breakfast,
hon."

The music was causing my whole body to tremble, and I winced from the
noise. It seemed to get louder by the second, and when I looked over at
Cyrus...he was grinning at me. A cold stare in his eyes, observing my
every reaction, absorbing my every restriction. The rest of the group
was practically banging their heads to the beat, and didn't seem to need
much provocation at all to begin partying away like there was no
tomorrow. No supervision, no complaining neighbors, no law, no regrets,
no rules of any kind. And the same reckless abandon that exploded
throughout the room from the dancing and hollering teenagers...was shown
in the still gaze and devilish grin on Cyrus' face. Our eyes locked onto
each other, and he stared me down. It was like he was trying to capture
my attention completely and not pay attention to the music at all. He
was pulling me into his world...kicking and screaming...allowing the
madness of it all to slowly drench me with its sickness.

The instant 'party' raged on around us, with the exception of Sebastian,
who didn't seem to care one way or the other. I saw Scout enter the
room, dragging a small metal tub behind him. The tub was full of ice,
the ice was full of beer, Jaegermeister, and vodka. They weren't fooling
around here. They actually expected to get wasted this soon in the day.

"Isn't it a bit EARLY for this???" I shouted, hoping they'd hear me over
the banging music.

"Not at all!" Kristin shouted back, and everybody helped themselves to a
drink of choice. Scout included. "You should JOIN us kiddo!" She added,
and tossed her hair back and forth in time with the rock guitars.
Kriegar had already chugged his first beer down into his gullet, and let
out a loud belch before crushing the can and tossing it over his
shoulder. He smoothed out his bushy sideburns and sprung up from the
couch to grab three more from the ice, and take them back to the couch
with him. Scout brought Cyrus a bottle of vodka and opened it for
him...then sitting in his lap, his small blond body looking more
comfortable than ever all cuddled up under his nose. It was the first
time since I had first laid eyes on him that he actually resembled a
little boy of 11. Any other time, he seemed more like an angry midget
than a preteen kid.

"WOOOO!!!! YES!!!!" I heard Dex scream, and he jumped to his feet on the
television, stomping on it with his feet!

"Not on the tv, Dex." Sebastian said quietly, but still loud enough for
me to hear it.

Then, with a huge LEAP, Dex jumped from the tv all the way over to the
dining room table nearby. He nearly slid off of the side, but caught
himself and hopped up to his feet again and continued stomping harder
than ever. Another shout came from Kristin who was now bouncing around
on the couch. Shank and Razor were nodding their heads, but didn't
really get too wild with it all. They sat back, a mirror reflection of
each other. One twin was leaned back with his right leg up, and the
other was on the other side of the room...leaned back with his left leg
up. They didn't care. They didn't seem to care about ANYTHING outside of
having fun. And while I thought it was cool at first, I thought this was
a bit much for me. It felt...I dunno...dangerous. Geez...I don't
DARE say that outloud for fear of sounding like my father.

"Yeah! Yeah! YEAH! YEAH! YEAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Dexter
screamed behind me, and I jumped at it. He was REALLY going nuts on top
of that table! His little blond curls were flopping all over the place,
and the way he was banging his head and spinning in circles, I was SURE
that he was going to fling himself off of that tabletop any second! I
looked back over at Cyrus to see if I should be worried about him...but
he was taking a heavy swig of his vodka, then taking the bottle from his
lips and tilting it up for Scout as he tried to guzzle down just as much
as his 'leader' did. It dribbled out of the sides of his tiny little
mouth anyway though. And that's when I saw Cyrus giggle at his attempts
to keep up. Then...he put the bottle on top of the vibrating speaker
next to him, used his fingertips to wipe the excess liquor from the
youngster's chin and lips...and then he leaned forward to kiss him FULL
ON THE MOUTH! Not just any kiss, not a brotherly kiss, or even a kiss
reserved for the best of companions. But a heavy breathing, lustful,
attack of a liplock with full tongue that made my jaw drop to the
fucking FLOOR! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Cyrus cradled the
boy in his arms as their lips mashed against each other, his one hand
rubbing him savagely all over his thighs, crotch, and ass. Scout was
loving every second of it, and held Cyrus' head in both hands, holding
on tightly as their tongues screwed one another in the most seductive
ways. It was the most shocking thing I think I had seen from them so
far.

Looking around the room, no one seemed to notice. no one seemed to care.
In fact, Kristin seemed to be running her own hands under her shirt in a
sensual frenzy of her own. Was it the vibrations? Was it the mood? Were
they just doing it to completely desensitize me to every taboo in their
wicked repretoire? I don't know...but whatever it was, it was flooding
me all at once, and I was lost again. Not knowing what to do, not
knowing where to look, unable to comprehend the entire scene all at
once. It was a freaky experience, and I began to feel out of place as
far as the 'young and wild' aspect of the morning was concerned.

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Dex shouted even louder than before,
practically ripping his own hair out now! SERIOUSLY out of control as he
got totally lost in the music! He took the empty bottle of whiskey in
his hand, and without thinking, he viciously FLUNG it across the room as
hard as he could! The glass hit the wall with an impact that caused it
to EXPLODE into a million pieces and shower down on to Cyrus and Scout,
interrupting their passionate coupling.

"DEX!!!!" Cyrus shouted! "Tone it DOWN!!!"

"Sorry, Cy!" He said, and went back to rocking out ike he was before!

I heard the crinkling of another can, and saw that Kriegar had already
chugged down all three cans of beer! He had JUST woken up for God sakes!
I saw him turn green for a second, his chest heaving a few times....I
was scared to watch. But then he just let out another loud burp, and
pounded his chest with his fist. "False alarm." He said with a gentle
slur. And he got up to grab three MORE! Ok...that was it. I think I've
gotten myself into something a bit 'out of my league'. Cyrus and Scout
had taken a break in their kiss, both of them hard as rocks and
displaying their erections proudly without covering up at all. I took
the opportunity to walk closer to our ringleader, hoping to find a
quick, but polite, way out of this. But I noticed that the twins kept
their eyes locked fiercely every step of the way. And as I got within
five feet of Cyrus, they both put their legs down and leaned forward.
They were still wearing that evil smirk on their faces, but their green
eyes shot me a subtle warning through their dark crimson red hair. They
were ready to strike if they had to.

"Hey Cyrus?" I yelled as I got within speaking range. Scout immediately
gave me a frown, and hugged Cyrus tighter around his neck. 'Claiming'
him before I could get close enough to touch him. "I think...I think,
maybe I should be going now!"

"WHAT?" He shouted back.

"I SAID...I think I should be leaving now!"

"WHY???"

I guess I shouldn't have expected it to be that easy to leave. "I've
been gone for hours now! I never showed up at camp! They'll be worried
about me!"

"So what? Let them worry!" He said, and gave Scout another lover's kiss
on the side of his neck.

He wasn't listening. He NEVER listened to what I was telling him.
"Cyrus! Seriously! I should be going! Really! They probably think I'm
missing or something!"

"SO?!?!" He shrugged. Scout leaned forward and began sticking his tongue
in Cyrus' ear, moving it around in small gyrations, and Cyrus closed his
eyes for a moment to enjoy it. But after a few moments, he opened them
again, and saw that I really wasn't enjoying myself anymore. Not the way
he wanted me to. So he peeled himself away from Scout for a
second and looked into my eyes. Then he reached over and hit the off
button on the stereo. The music came to an abrupt halt, and it took a
few beats for everyone else in the room to stop moving to the music.
They all looked at me, as though I had somehow come in and set fire to
their Garden of Eden. Cyrus sat their silently for a long pause,
allowing the awkwardness and uncomfortable vibe of the moment to sink in
before speaking again. "How about we go out on an excursion, my friend.
What do you say?" He grinned, and Scout slid off of his lap to his feet.
His pouty lips frowned up at me as he walked past with a small tent
poking out in front of him unsatisfied.

"Look...I'm sorry, ok? It's been fun. Really. I just...I should
be getting back now. I'm gonna be in enough trouble as it is after
ditching my duties today."

"Is that why you wanna go back, Wesley? To face your punishment for
having fun?" Cyrus asked with a grin. "No...not yet. FIRST...you come
out with us for a little 'field trip' so you can relax. THEN...we'll
think about taking you home. Deal?" He said, and before I could answer,
he told everybody, "Grab your stuff folks. We're going out."

Great. NOW what was I getting myself into?

Did I have a choice? I doubt it. Despite his attempts to make me
feel totally free in my actions...Cyrus' word was basically
law when it came to just about everything. There was no denying
his will, even if you wanted to. It's strange how a predicament like
that can be both restricting...and comforting....at the same
time. "After this...you promise to take me back home?" I asked.

"Hmmmm...." Cyrus said with a pause. "...Nope. 'Fraid not." And he got
up to grab me by the hand and lead me outside to the truck again.
"C'mon! Don't look so worried! We're having 'fun', right? And
FUN....is all about letting go. Your words." He giggled. I was
almost sorry for ever saying it. But Cyrus' orders were never to be
questioned. His friendly smile and persuasive words were only another
form of subtle intimidation, keeping me glued to whatever path he wanted
me to follow by distracting me from all other forms of free thought. He
could change the subject of any conversation on a dime, he could stare a
burning hole straight through you if you dared to look back at him, and
he could easily derail your train of thought with no more than a sly and
silent grin and a tilt of his head. It was more than peer
pressure...it was more like mind control. And all he needed to do was
tap into your own temptations to do it.

"Mount up everybody! We're going to the cliff!" Cyrus shouted, and
everyone jumped onboard. With Kriegar and Dex joining us in the back
this time. I was hesitant to come along, but they dragged me in with
their energetic antics. They pulled me onto the back of the truck by my
arms, and I had to sit down quick as the music began pumping and Cyrus
took off at top speed again. The wheels digging deeply into the dirt and
kicking up a huge cloud of dust behind us. Once again, we were off. And
I was just tailgaiting in whatever delinquent activities they were
rushing to get into next.

We were driving faster than ever around the winding roads, the wind
whipping through my hair as everyone else sat back and bobbed their
heads to the music as though this was all...normal for them. John
Boy leaned over to speak softly in my ear. "Relax, Wes. There's no
'trouble' out here. We're free to do what we want to do. Trust me
on this."

"I'm not trying to be...antisocial or anything, I just....this is all
making me a bit uncomfortable, ok?"

"No..." John Boy smiled. "...You holding back is making you
uncomfortable. We TOLD you...give in to the feeling. All that guilt, and
fear, and doubt...worrying about missing camp and whatever consequences
might be waiting for you at home...get rid of it. Cleanse yourself of
all that garbage and SMILE. There's good music playing, you're
surrounded by friends, and you've got a free ride to whatever adventure
you feel like having today. ENJOY it! Live in the now."

"Sighhhh.....you guys are gonna get me in SO much trouble."

"Yes. Yes we are." He giggled, his 13 year old boyish face glowing with
pride. "You can thank us for it later." And with that said, he leaned
back and we barreled down the old road at 75 miles an hour.

A good twenty minutes had passed before anyone said anything else. I was
actually beginning to think I could get away with all of this. Something
inside me just said 'fuck it', and I considered myself a prisoner of war
as far as this whole fiasco was concerned. 'I might as well make the
best of it,' I told myself. 'It's not my fault,' I told myself. 'I can't
leave now,' I told myself. The excuses got easier, the rationalizations
of my situation were blurring until they faded away entirely. And I
smiled as I watched Kriegar climb up onto the roof of the truck and wave
his hands back and forth in front of the windshield. I should have been
TERRIFIED...but I wasn't. Not even when Cyrus slammed on the brakes
playfully, nearly tossing him onto the hood. There was a slight moment
of fear that he would go soaring onto the road in front of us, but when
he caught a hold and I saw Cyrus, Scout, Kristin, and Sebastian laughing
outloud at him...I joined in. That little moment of fear gave me a rush,
and I almost wanted to have him do it again. And as we heard Marilyn
Manson's 'Dope Show' come blasting out of the speakers...a song I could
NEVER listen to around MY parents...I found myself singing it out just
as loud as the rest of them. Speeding down an old road, screaming Manson
lyrics with a group of degenerates. A week ago, how could I have
predicted this. I could feel Cyrus watching me in the rearview
mirror...

...And I could tell that he was proud.

About ten minutes further into our drive to the middle of nowhere, I
noticed Dex fiddling with a Crucifix that he wore hanging from a
bracelet on his wrist. It was attached with a string, it seemed, and it
made me wonder if maybe he was one of the last boys Cyrus decided
to snatch away from Bible camp before I came along. The second he saw me
looking at him...Dex came to sit next to me. Or, more appropiately, he
stood up and the centrifugal force of a sharp turn nearly tossed him
into my lap. And he leaned really close to me, sniffing my hair
for some odd reason. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"You smell different." He said with a straight face. I looked
over at the others, who shrugged their shoulders in response. "You
didn't smell like this when you were at the house."

"Um....is that a bad thing?"

"Depends on you. Are you having fun?"

"Hehehe...yeah. I think I am."

"I can tell. Yep, I can tell. Your smell is totally different than it
was before. Totally. Far out, dude." He smiled. Why the hell was Dex so
damn INSANE? "I like this smell!" He said, and threw his arm
around me as he gave me a long wet LICK on the side of my neck! My
reflexes made me cringe instantly, and I pushed him back! The very
absurdity of this boy made me giggle out of pure bewilderment at what
the heck he was thinking.

"Can you NOT lick me, please? Hehehe!" I laughed.

"You're cute. I like you." He said. "I like him." Dex scooted closer to
me, our legs and shoulders touching. "They treat me like I'm crazy, you
know? But I'm NOT crazy! Don't you believe it!" He said, feeling himself
get hyper again and having to calm down. "It's not me. It's the
moon. Lunar schedule says it's gonna be full tonight, you know?
Did ya know? Do you keep charts? I do. I've got three calendars and a
rolodexy type thigamajig! Yep!"

"Dex...are you ok?" I asked as 'politely' as possible.

"Oh yes, I'm fine. VERY fine. Yep. It's the OTHER moon you gotta watch
out for. The other one. The NEW moon. Not good to be around Dex
then. Not good at all. Nope." He said. "But NOW is cool!" He smiled.
"You're so damn CUTE! Can I smell you again? I LIKE him! He's kick ass!"
He told the others in the back of the truck. "You guys didn't screw him
yet, did you? I wanna keep him. Can I have him?"

"Um...what?" I asked, a confusion swallowing up what he said and causing
me to wonder whether I had heard him right or not.

Just then, Kriegar smacked Dex in the back of the head, and one of the
twins kicked him in the leg to shut him up. Evidently his lack of
impulse control had gotten to say more than he was supposed to. And the
back of the truck fell silent for a moment. But Dex wasn't quiet for
very long. He turned back to me with a grin after wincing from his brief
attack, and took my hand in his. "You're nice. I like you. He's cool.
You guys treat him good." Looking around, the mood between the others in
the back had changed, and everything fell silent. I knew at that moment
that they had 'plans' for me. Plans that I wouldn't be able to scape
from even if I wanted to. I didn't know if that scared me...or
excited me.

The ride continued until we got to some small park like area overlooking
a pretty big cliff. Almost as big as the one at Rainbow's End, with
nothing but trees at the bottom. A long slanted downhill drop. Cyrus
screeched the tires to a halt, and Kriegar jumped over the side before
we even stopped rolling. Cyrus put the truck in park and left the music
pumping as he got out. Meanwhile, I had Dex glued to my arm with his
eyes closed and a big psychotic smile on his pretty young face as he
pressed it against my shoulder. "Dex?" I said, shaking him a bit and
trying to pry my arm loose from his two handed grip. "Dex? I think we're
here now."

"And you know what, Goo Goo...OH!!! We're here!!!" He shouted in
my ear, and without another word, he popped up and flung himself over
the side of the truck so fast that he lost his foothold and fell to the
ground below. Not that it stopped him for long. He simply rolled to his
feet, dirt still covering his side and back, and ran off to join some of
the others at the edge of the cliff. Leaving me there by myself as
though he had completely forgotten what he was talking about. DAMN he
was a strange one! And that's saying an awful lot considering the
company he keeps.

I lowered myself from the back of the truck, and started walking towards
the cliff with the others. It was then that Sebastian walked up beside
me, looking at me with some kind of...I don't know...'connection', for
the first time since our kiss in the woods the other night. "You seem
much happier." He said.

"I...I am." He still left me breathless. I wanted to begin
kissing him again right then and there.

Then, he very calmly, very plainly, said, "You're going to wanna stay
here with us for good. I can tell. You don't have much further to
go."

"It's tempting, but I think I'll pass." I grinned.

"No...even if you went back, it wouldn't be the same." He turned to
lightly run his fingers through my hair, and all the air rushed out of
my body at once. "You'll be one of us by the end of the day. Don't fight
it."

"I doubt I'd fit in with you wackos."

"Cyrus thinks you fit just fine. He's been searching for you. If you
think he's just going to let you go, you're wrong." Sebastian raised an
eyebrow, and then he left my side to join his comrades. I stopped in my
tracks for a second, and saw each and every ne of them, sitting in
almost the exact same order as they were that night over Rainbow's End.
A weird sense of deja vu swept over me, and I wondered if something like
that could possibly be a coincidence.

"Come on, sit next to me." Cyrus said, patting the ground next to him. I
saw Scout give me an evil look, but with a pout, he moved over to leave
me a space. I hesitated again, but not for long. Unlike the last time, I
took my first few steps towards him, and joined him on the edge of the
abyss. I didn't know it at the time, but I was giving up what was left
of the good obedient boy inside of me that afternoon. That day...I
really DID become one of them. I just didn't know it yet.

A few hours passed, with everyone laughing and joking around. Dex and
Kriegar climbed a few trees, The twins wrestled for a little bit here
and there...Sebastian leaned up against a tree and read a few pages from
a small novel that he had brought with him. It was probably the most
'tame' thing I had seen them do all day. But as I sat and watched them
gallop around and have a blast, I noticed that Cyrus hardly took his
eyes off of me for more than a few seconds at a time. I almost expected
him to be taking notes on my progress or something the way he observed
my every move. Finally, he came to join me for a moment alone on the
edge of the cliff, the both of us sitting down with our legs hanging
over the side. "So, Wesley...."

"Yeah?"

Cyrus smiled wide at me. "What did you do with the last hour of your
life?"

"Hehehehe!" I broke out into a fit of snickers and giggles, thinking
back to the house, and rolling through the center of town, ditching
camp, having my neck licked by some cute young blond that looked like a
young Justin Timberlake, and nearly being thrown several times fro the
back of a speeding truck. "Don't ask." I said.

"Good! You don't need to answer, just remember." He patted me proudly on
the back and grinned. "You're finally learning to be free. You're
finally beginning to let go." He told me. "You've still got a ways to go
yet, but at least you're not putting up as much of a fight as you did
before."

"Yea, well you DID 'kidnap' me afterall!"

"No I didn't. We told you to join us and you caved in. Free will all the
way, my friend." Cyrus put his arm over my shoulder, and looked out over
the cliff with me. "Tell me...now that you're sitting here with me, with
US, do you really feel all that bad about missing some boring camp
activities this morning?"

"Yes!" I giggled. "None of this changes the fact that I did a really
lousy thing to those kids today. And my father will completely
disown me if I don't show myself soon."

"Pure fantasy." He seemed to shrug it off as though it had no meaning at
all in his world. "You found a private piece of yourself through us
today, and that's all that matters. You worry about what your dad
thinks, and what the campers will think, and blah blah blah. What about
YOU? Huh? When do you get to take care of yourself for a
change?"

"Life just doesn't work like that dude..."

"Why not? Hmm? Can you tell me why?" He waited, but didn't get an
answer. "You feel guilty because you're supposed to. I can
understand that. It's human. And it's hard to break that programming
sometimes. But you're letting your soul atrophy in this strangled
life that you're living. You knew you wanted to come with us the second
you saw us at Rainbow's End. So why didn't you? Why think about it? Why
give yourself time to think, time to fear, time to doubt? Just do it and
be HAPPY. The consequences REALLY aren't all that bad when you think
about it." I shook my head, still trying to figure out what he wanted
from me. "Mankind is trying sooo hard to not be animals. But we ARE
animals, plain and simple. Just another creature on this planet running
around eating, sleeping, procreating, and building habitats for
ourselves just like every other animal out there. Hell, they
probably PITY mankind."

"Hehehe, why would you say that?" I asked.

"Because...look at us. We let our so called 'intellect' and higher
learning get in the way of what we really feel. All we DO is use
civilization as an excuse to deny our own emotions and suffocate our
wants and needs. If we did what our bodies and animal instincts TOLD us
to do...we'd probably leave the nest at age 12, be sexually activated at
14, have children with multiple females by 18, and live happy until we
all retired to Florida." He laughed, getting a chuckle from me.

"I don't think I've ever thought about it that way before."

"EXACTLY! You're not supposed to. You're supposed to hide it and
push it away and suppress it and sweep it under the rug or into the
closet where nobody else has to see it. Why do you think sex scares so
many people, Wes? Because it's HONEST! It's an honest, primal,
expression of what we are...animals. There's no hiding in sex. Not if
you do it right." He said with a wink. "Sex takes away man's ability to
'pretend' that he's above his emotions. His inner feelings. How long do
you think it'll take to arouse somebody if you rub up against them for
long enough and offer yourself to them? Hmm? I'm willing to bet that
there isn't a single 'upstanding citizen' out there that wouldn't give
you a good shag if you offered blatantly enough."

"So you're saying that sex is unavoidable?"

"I'm saying sexual desire is unavoidable. You can fight it, you
can deny it, you can put it in a box and try to keep it in the closet
all you want. But when that opportunity comes around for you to get a
choice piece of ass...all that wanton lust is gonna come running
STRAIGHT back to the surface. Why fight it? Pretending you don't want it
is like trying to tell yourself you're not hungry when you're starving.
It's just stupid."

"Well....maybe, but...we can't just all run around screwing like
jackrabbits and doing whatever we want because we feel like it."

"Yes, Wesley. We can. That's precisely my point. And the second you
realize that, that's the second that the whole idea of these little
games society likes to play on our minds begins to melt away. You are a
lot more free than is 'comfortable' to believe, my friend." I gave him a
look. "Sound crazy?" He asked. "You see that truck over there? I'd walk
over there with a brick and break out every single window on that truck
if I had the urge to do so right now. And I wouldn't think twice about
it. What's more...I could get everybody here to help me do it in half
the time."

"But....why would you do that?"

"Why NOT? It's MY world, I don't give a fuck, I can do what I want to
do. So can you." He said with a little shove. "You have emotions for a
REASON, Wes. Emotions dictate action. That's what they're for. But
you're constantly suffocating them. WHY? If you suddenly feel like
turning into a whirlwind and trashing the room around you, then DO it.
Who's to stop you? Do it just to see what it 'feels' like and don't
apologize for it. LIVE for the experience. That's what I've been trying
to tell you from day one."

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"We're ALL crazy, Wes. The whole damn world is crazy. But it's a much
more psychotic practice to hide that insanity than it is to discover it
and harness that energy to get what you want out of life. Don't ya
think?" I only raised an eyebrow, and he cut himself short. "It's ok.
Just keep that concept in the back of your mind for later. You'll need
it." He smiled, and then took his arm from around my shoulder to spend a
few silent moments looking back out into the woods below us again. The
silence was far from being uncomfortable, but the questions he raised in
me broke down barrier after barrier. And soon it was hard to figure out
whether my will was getting stronger or weaker. Or where my duties
should lie at this point.

But after the silence went on for a few minutes, I thought of something,
"Can I ask you a question, Cyrus?"

"Of course."

"Everybody keeps telling me that you were...searching for me.
Exactly...why is that?"

His grin tilted slightly as he looked out over the cliff in front of
him. "You think too much."

"Yeah, I know. But I wanna know. I mean...what's so special about
me?"

He paused, and then turned to look me in the eye. "You know when you're
on a roller coaster...and you take that very first dip as it drops you
for the first time?" He said. "You hold on, and you shout, and you feel
this rush of adrenaline pulse through you. For that short amount of
time, your life is greater than it had ever been. It's alive, it's
exhilirating, it's a combination of every emotion you've ever had
at once, surging through you at the speed of light. It brings the world
directly to you in full BLINDING color. There's nothing else like
it."

"Okaaaaayyy...." I said, hoping there was more to this so he could
actually answer my question.

"Make no mistake...it's actual 'fear' that you're feeling as it whips
you around. Terror, loss of control, confusion. BUT...the difference is
that you somehow 'convert' that fear into fun! You take whatever
negative energy it gives you, and you just try to hold on while your
body gives you the adrenaline rush of a lietime." He told me. "All fear
and doubt can be handled the same way, once you embrace it. You just
have to be able to recognize it." I watched as his face got more serious
for a moment. "But there's only so many people allowed on the ride at
once. Everybody else sits back and WATCHES it from the ground. They may
smile, they might even get a little thrill out of watching it go back
and forth, its passengers screaming and laughing together. But they
never quite get the full effect. Because they're just a LITTLE too
scared to jump on with the rest of us." Cyrus picked up a small rock and
tossed over the edge, letting it fall down below us. "I see you on the
edge, Wesley. You're waiting at the top of that very first dip, but you
just refuse to dive in with the rest of us. You WANT it, you just don't
think you're ready for it. Seeing that potential in somebody is a
miraculous thing." He said. "Consider this my way of giving you a little
push."

"Oh really?" I replied. "And what about the other two kids that were
with you? Did you give them a push two?"

His head turned again, impressed that I even knew about them. "Two
kids?"

"I hear that you had some other friends in your little mob here. A boy
and a girl. Last year."

"Ahhh...Jonah and Simone. Yes...they did spend some time with us here.
They were brother and sister. They were a very special pair, yes they
were."

"So what happened?"

He looked down over the cliff, and his smile regained some of that
wicked 'serial killer' appeal to it that seemed to come so easily to
him. "We had some fun. Then....they decided they didn't want to be a
part of our little game anymore. It's a shame really. I liked them."

"Did they...move away or something?"

"They met up with an unfortunate...accident shortly after they
departed our company." He looked back at me with no shame or sorrow
whatsoever. "There are some pretty wild animals in these woods at night.
You have to be careful." I might have been able to piece more of this
tale together had I the opportunity. But once again, Cyrus knew what
buttons to push to jerk my focus away from what I was thinking.
"So...you're gay, huh? How's that working for you?"

I think I turned completely white before blushing a deep shade of red.
He laughed out loud at my reaction, knowing that he had definitely
touched a nerve. "Jesus, dude..." I mumbled.

"Hahaha...it's alright, Wes. Geez, you're SO uptight. Didn't I tell you
that you didn't have to worry about that? I already know." He said. "We
ALL know." He put a hand on the top of my head and forced me to look him
in the eye. "It's ok. Do you understand? It's ok."

They say that coming out to somebody is like a huge weight lifted off of
your shoulders. I wouldn't know, considering that I never had the guts
to tell ANYBODY. But a 'lifted weight' is exactly what it felt like at
that very moment. As though my whole chest deflated and then refilled
itself with a fresh new air that I could never breathe before. The
sensation was so sudden that it nearly made my eyes water.
"Um....Uh....."

"Wes...it's ok. Seriously. You can say it if you want to. Scream it out
over the cliff if you want to. There's nobody out here but us. It's a
block, a barricade. Get rid of it." I felt my chest heaving, almost on
the verge of shedding tears that I didn't understand. "You are who you
are. Who you are emotionally, mentally, spiritually...it's no different
from who you are physically. You can no more change your sexuality or
your view of the world or your own personal philosophy than you can your
height, or your weight, or the color of your eyes. Sure you can put on
platform shoes, or suck in your belly, or wear contacts....but you can't
keep that up forever. Sooner or later, when you're all alone in your
room with nothing but your thoughts to keep you company, the truth is
going to show itself. So embrace it." He said. "Go on...tell me about
it. I'm curious."

"I'm sorry." I sniffled with a smile. "I just...I never really talked
about this with anybody before. You're actually...the first person to
ever know about me. I didn't think I'd ever say anything to anybody
about how I feel. Ever."

"Well...now's your chance."

"Well...NOW I don't know what to say." I chuckled.

Cyrus let a silence fall between us, but without breaking his stare, he
asked, "Were you aroused when you saw Scout French kiss me in the arm
chair today?"

"Did you like what you saw?" He asked. "Did you like watching the twins
penetrate your friend Kyla from both sides on the beach?" How did he
even KNOW about that? Then he whispered, "Did you like the feel of
Sebastian's body being pressed so tightly to your own?" It's hard to
explain, but Cyrus' voice changed somehow at that moment. Became
somewhat hypnotic, almost surreal. My whole body tingled as his words
entered me with a passion that was difficult to describe. "How much do
you want from us, Wesley? Take it. It's yours. That and anything else
you could possibly ever want or need. It's yours at the snap of a finger
for as long as you decide to stay with us." He then turned to look over
his shoulder at Sebastian, reading the book. "Emotions dictate action,
right?" Sebastian was looking SO damn sexy, sitting on the ground,
leaning against that tree with one leg up. "Sebastian....come." Cyrus
beckoned him, and he put the book down at his side, walking over to join
us. He kneeled down next to Cyrus, and I watched as Cyrus raised his
hand to run his fingers through Sebastians long flowing hair. "You see,
Wesley? You can have it. Any time you want it." And with that, he pulled
gently at the back of Sebastian's head and lowered him down for a long
passionate kiss on the lips. Between a small heartbreak and a sudden
arousal from watching those two go at it, my body was thrown into a
confusing set of emotions that I wasn't prepared for. Their lips grinded
against one another, tongues twisting, breathing getting heavy, and I
felt myself harden instantly. I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I was
flushed, erect, drawn to them like a moth to the flame. And just as I
felt myself leaning forward for a closer look, they stopped.

It was then that Cyrus smiled at me, and with a nod of his head,
directed Sebastian to crawl over him to get to me. He had such a sensual
look in his chocolate brown eyes, and his intimidating beauty overtook
me all at once as he crawled closer and covered my mouth with his own. I
didn't even have time to close my eyes as the make out session began. My
whole world exploded into sparks and stars, my body fueled by an
electric rush that raised my temperature to dangerous levels. Sebastian
was kissing me...AGAIN! But with even more power than last time. I
gasped, I moaned, I whimpered in his embrace. And I was so lost
that I couldn't tell up from down, left from right. My entire sense of
placement in the universe depended solely on Sebastian, and his
connection to me through our intimate kiss.

Cyrus chuckled at my surprise, and watched us make out like mad. I
didn't even CARE that he was watching. Or anybody else for that matter.
I gave in. ALL the way! One hundred and fifty percent of everything I
knew to be real. "Hehehe, NOW you're living, Wes. Take it. Take it as
far as you want to go. There are NO boundaries this time. NO
limitations. The world is ours for the taking." I kept kissing him as he
leaned me back to the ground, and I felt his feather light weight press
down on my chest as he wiggled his way on top of me. I was so breathless
that I thought I would pass out at any minute. But his kiss gave me the
energy to stay awake. "Go Further, Wes. Touch him. I know you
want to. Take him. He's yours. Do what you want with him. He'll bend ANY
way you tell him to." Cyrus said, taking a hold of my wrist and guiding
it downward to rest on Sebastians pert ass cheeks down below. I
instinctively pulled his slim hips closer to me, and could feel his
incredibly hard length poking into me. He was very well endowed indeed.
I gripped his ass cheeks hard through his jeans, squeezing the globes as
tightly as I could, wishing his pants were off so that I could feel the
warm smooth skin underneath. So I could run my fingers through the
heated cleft of his tight young buns, so I could find that one special
place and feel him shiver as I opened it with a single wet push of my
finger.

I felt my orgasm already approaching, nearing its final destination,
rushing towards the surface as quickly as possible. My head was spinning
so fast that I felt like I was falling, even while laying on solid
ground. And then....the kiss was broken. Sebastian looked down at me,
and ran his fingers through my hair a few times, but said nothing. I
looked over at Cyrus, and he had this knowing smirk on his face. Knowing
that he had fulfilled my every fantasy with this trip. Knowing that he
had collapsed the foundation on everything that made me the responsible
growing boy that I was trying so hard to be. Knowing that he was rapidly
gaining control of me through my desire to break free. And when all was
said and done...he knew he had found his special treasure buried deep
within me.

"I believe he's getting the point." Sebastian said with a smirk. I
craned my neck up to kiss him a few more times on the cheek and his
neck. I was sooooo close. Just...finish me off....please? Oh man...this
is fucking amazing! But Sebastian simply rolled off of me, and adjusted
himself in front.

"Wait...wait...wha..." I said, left 'stranded' AGAIN by the boy I wanted
more than anything at that moment.

"Patience, Wesley. Patience." Cyrus grinned, and then he reached his
hand out to the tent in my pants, 'adjusting' it for me while I
shivered from his expert touch. "I think it's time we went back to the
house. Don't you?" He asked.

I nodded desperately. ANYTHING to get back into Sebastian's arms!
ANYTHING! "Uh huh..." I responded with a dreamy nod, and we all
got to our feet.

"Gentlemen...and lady...I believe we are going back home."

That was all Cyrus had to say before the rest dropped what they were
doing and headed back towards the truck. Except this time, Shank and
Razor sat at either side of me on the floor. When Dexter came to cuddle
up next to me again, they pushed him away. Rather harshly, I might add.
"HEY! That's MY spot!" He pouted.

"Take another seat, Dex." They said, and with a pout, he sat off to the
side. Mumbling to himself.

I would have paid Dex some attention, but I wouldn't have understood a
word anyway. Besides, once I became aware of Shank and Razor's hands
silently gliding over my skin...it was all I could concentrate on. It
was my instinct to protest, or to gasp, or to move away from them.
SOMETHING that would keep anyone from seeing me enjoy it so much. But I
didn't. Not this time. I simply leaned my head back, and closed my eyes
for a brief moment. Their hand movements were all that I had to connect
me to reality at that moment. I never knew where their fingertips would
land, or where their tender paths would lead. But not being able to
control where they touched me seemed to excite me more. Slowly,
methodically, the twins started rubbing up and down my thighs. Then I
felt a hand go under my shirt to rub my stomach and chest. Then...from
the other side, I felt a grope at my crotch, and it made me release a
timid little 'yelp' in response. They paid my response no attention at
all. They never asked for permission to touch me, or looked to see if I
was reacting negatively to their advancements. I doubt they cared one
way or the other. And as they both leaned forward to lick at either side
of my neck...my whole body released its every tension, and I knew at
that moment that I'd do anything they asked me to to get them to keep
going. Anything.